Survivor S40: Winners at War

[PUSH]

Welcome to the latest Survivor thread! With Island of the Idols in the rear view mirror, it's time to start talking about one of the most anticipated seasons of all time... Season 40: Winners at War!

Here's the cast of 20 past winners:

Ethan Zohn
Sandra Diaz-Twine
Amber Mariano (Brkich)
Danni Boatwright
Yul Kwon
Parvati Shallow
Rob Mariano
Sophie Clarke
Kim Spradlin
Denise Stapley
Tyson Apostol
Tony Vlachos
Natalie Anderson
Jeremy Collins
Michele Fitzgerald
Adam Klein
Sarah Lacina
Ben Driebergen
Wendell Holland
Nick Wilson

The season will feature the Edge of Extinction, as well as introduce a new in-game currency for players to use.

I am pumped for this season! I can't wait to discuss it!

 

[Outbound]

Ok, I’m scared.

After two controversial seasons I’m really ready for the best survivor yet. We’re talking winner of winners. It has to be good, right?

And then the trailer, after spending most of its time hyping up all these big name contestants, throws at us not one but two twists! First, the edge of extinction is back. Second, there’s a new twist called “fire tokens” - more on that later.

Let’s consider the following. The past two season’s big twists have both been colossal failures. The Edge of Extinction allowed Chris to essentially take a FastPass to victory. He played a good game with what he got, but his game was too good. If he had played all 39 days he surely would have been eliminated, like Aaron last season. Next there’s the Island of the Idols, which wasn’t as huge a failure but its kinda hilarious the winner of the season was one of the few who never attended a so-called “lesson”.

All these game-changing twists do is confuse the game. See: Vince and Jamal, both screwed by a random twist. Survivor is better when decisions are made by the players. I love an idol here or there, but seeing the strategy become who can wake up earliest every week is tiring. We can watch an episode without advantages and not be bored.

So the Edge is a bad idea. No idea why Survivor would bring it back, but hopefully they’ve adjusted it to avoid a Chris situation. Ok, I’ll accept it. This brings us to “fire tokens”. Oh god. On the parchment it said things like food, shelter... has Survivor become an xp-based RPG? Whatever happened to the challenge of surviving? This is going to forever change the game, and I’m baffled at why they introduced it here and not Season 41.

I am still beyond excited for this season, but what was a positive opinion has been replaced with a 50/50 of hype and fear. Can they possibly screw this up a third time? I hope not.

 

[SAV]

All I can think of is the introduction of the currency is that it is something new that none of these top level players can plan for and will mess up any pre-plans that they could have had.

IMO, the biggest target has to be on B-Rob and/or Amber. They will obviously be loyal to each other and protect each other. Gotta split the couple. Next is Sandra for obvious reasons.

As a person who has watched the show from day 1, I will honestly say I can't remember what some of the names on the list look like. Maybe you can add pictures beside each name?

As for IOE, they want to keep these super stars on TV as long as possible. Illustrated by this past season with B-Rob and Sandra. IOE gives them that. Even if B-Rob is the first boot, he'll be on TV another 12 weeks or whatever.

 

[PUSH]

The only reason this season is possible is because of the EoE returning. When Probst contacted these players, he said almost every one asked how can you assure me that I won't be eliminated early? I doubt players like Parvati, Tyson, Kim, etc would play again without that extra chance. So many of these players said they'd never play again. And while I'm not a EoE fan, if there is ever a season to bring it back, it's this one. I don't think people are as upset if someone like Parvati comes back at the final 6 and wins. Plus... I wan't to see some of these players as much as possible. Parvati is my favorite player of all time. If she is voted out early, I will love the EoE. I just don't think it works at all on a newbie season.

Also, I believe all players will know of the EoE before the season starts.

As for the fire tokens, I think it could add an interesting wrinkle that is much more player-led than advantages are. The strategy behind it is intriguing.

 

[BrianLo]

EoE is a fine twist, but it just needs tweaking. Let's be frank, it was a twist made to put Joe back in at the final 6, not Chris Underwood.

The 4-6 players unsuccessful in the first return option should not be eligible to play in the next one. You Need a critical mass of days playing the actual game. However that math occurs, we definitely feel collectively 12 isn't it.

Outside of perhaps this all-star season, those first wave players really shouldn't be jury eligible. It's just not fair to have them evaluate finalists they literally have never spoken to.

The final returnee needed to also occur slightly sooner - i.e. final 8, not final 6.


The crazier option to fix it, would be to have EoE host pure tribal councils (no immunities, no hidden idols) for the second wave returnee. Make them wean themselves to a final two and have a challenge to put one of them back in the game. If they want to be treated as in the game, then they need to play all aspects of the game. Not just a free-ride purgatory until a final 6 challenge.

 

[PUSH]

EoE is a fine twist, but it just needs tweaking. Let's be frank, it was a twist made to put Joe back in at the final 6, not Chris Underwood.

The 4-6 players unsuccessful in the first return option should not be eligible to play in the next one. You Need a critical mass of days playing the actual game. However that math occurs, we definitely feel collectively 12 isn't it.

Outside of perhaps this all-star season, those first wave players really shouldn't be jury eligible. It's just not fair to have them evaluate finalists they literally have never spoken to.

The final returnee needed to also occur slightly sooner - i.e. final 8, not final 6.


The crazier option to fix it, would be to have EoE host pure tribal councils (no immunities, no hidden idols) for the second wave returnee. Make them wean themselves to a final two and have a challenge to put one of them back in the game. If they want to be treated as in the game, then they need to play all aspects of the game. Not just a free-ride purgatory until a final 6 challenge.

I agree with all of this, especially the final 8 instead of the final 6. The tribal council at the EoE is interesting. I kind of like it, but I don't think it would ever happen due to time constraints. And I also wonder if it would be just a rehash of what already took place in the actual game.

 

[PUSH]

Interesting graphic to look at! There really is no advantage to being from a certain area or walk of life in Survivor.

 

[PUSH]

And now a graphic showing what states Survivor players have come from:

 

[GenerationX]

EoE is a fine twist, but it just needs tweaking. Let's be frank, it was a twist made to put Joe back in at the final 6, not Chris Underwood.

The 4-6 players unsuccessful in the first return option should not be eligible to play in the next one. You Need a critical mass of days playing the actual game. However that math occurs, we definitely feel collectively 12 isn't it.

Outside of perhaps this all-star season, those first wave players really shouldn't be jury eligible. It's just not fair to have them evaluate finalists they literally have never spoken to.

The final returnee needed to also occur slightly sooner - i.e. final 8, not final 6.


The crazier option to fix it, would be to have EoE host pure tribal councils (no immunities, no hidden idols) for the second wave returnee. Make them wean themselves to a final two and have a challenge to put one of them back in the game. If they want to be treated as in the game, then they need to play all aspects of the game. Not just a free-ride purgatory until a final 6 challenge.

Your options on fixing EoE are outstanding. I can't stand the whole idea of EoE, and it resulted in the least deserving winner and least satisfying conclusion in the show's history. The only logical explanation for bringing this train wreck of an idea back are the reasons @PUSH posted.

While I've watched every show since season 1, episode 1, I can't commit to watching season 40 without a little more knowledge of how EoE will work. In sports tournaments with losers brackets, a team has to keep winning to earn the right to play against the undefeated team ... and then has to win twice. In season 38, Chris played maybe 7 of 39 days and a handful (at best) of tribal councils. That was WAY too easy.

It's obviously a strong cast, even though there are several people I don't remember. My hope is that they fixed EoE to the point this will be worth watching.

 

[PUSH]

*checks date*

Nope, not season 40 time yet.

 

[NYwdwfan]

There are a few names I think are those people who rode coat tails to the end and only won because the real strategist angered too many of the jury members.

 

[PUSH]

There are a few names I think are those people who rode coat tails to the end and only won because the real strategist angered too many of the jury members.

Agreed, but I think that's a totally valid way to win. Any winner is valid and deserving, IMO. However, I may have voted differently. Such as Amber, Danni, and Michele. Also I'd add Natalie White in there, too.

I also would have voted differently on these occasions:

Parvati over Sandra
Carolyn over Mike
Chrissy over Ben
Gavin over Chris

However, I do think those winners did enough to win their season based on the circumstances they were dealt. I just thought differently than the jury.

 

[PUSH]

I think some players can't play more than a coattails game to win in some cases. For example, Danni would have been voted out had she tried to scheme at all. I believe Steph should have won in Guatemala, but kudos to Danni for defying the odds and knowing the jury... even if it may have been a "coattails" game. I also don't think Amber could have won by doing anything differently. She needed Rob there, and even if they were truly in love, she knew Rob wasn't popular enough to win. The Michele over Aubry discussion is different. I think Michele had a great social game, but there's no reason Aubry shouldn't have won. Some of the jury has since said they would have voted for Aubry had they watched the season before they had to vote. And Natalie White road coattails, but you also had to be crazy to not realize Russell was never going to get enough votes from that jury.

 

[PUSH]

CBS will air a one-hour anniversary retrospective on February 5th at 8:00 ET. The title is Survivor at 40: Greatest Moments and Players. There will be interviews with past players including: Parvati Shallow, Rob Mariano, Amber Mariano, Jeremy Collins, and Ben Driebergen. Other moments will be included, too.

 

[PUSH]

Today's fun fact: Noura went on several dates with Jamie from Guatemala years ago before Noura watched Survivor.

Also, Noura seems much more intelligent when listening to her RHAP deep dive. I'm really enjoying the podcast. It's over 3 hours long. I'm about an hour and a half in.

 

[PUSH]

SEASON 40 PRESS HAS RELEASED. I AM SO EXCITED.

 

[PUSH]

Looking through cast bios, one question was: Do you still watch Survivor. 19 players gave a firm, "Duh, of course!" type of answer. One player said it's hard with a family now and being so busy with kids, but watches what they can. So in translation: not really. Take a guess.

Spoiler

You probably guessed it. Danni Boatwright.

 

[PUSH]

Seriously. I NEED this season to start. The more preseason press I see, the more excited I get.




Please get used to my nerdiness for the next few months. It will not calm down.

 

[PUSH]

Looking through cast bios, one question was: Do you still watch Survivor. 19 players gave a firm, "Duh, of course!" type of answer. One player said it's hard with a family now and being so busy with kids, but watches what they can. So in translation: not really. Take a guess.

Spoiler

You probably guessed it. Danni Boatwright.

I now have seen an interview with her on ET Canada where she says it's a family ritual to watch Survivor together each week, and they even set up challenges in their backyard. These are two entirely different takes.

 

[artvandelay]

I was reading about the fire tokens and I’m not enthusiastic about it since it involves edge of extinction.